Review: The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular, Dominion Theatre

If you are unaware of the Richard O’Brien cult hit, then which rock(y) have you been hiding under for the last 50 years? In an incredible night for fans, four original cast members are reunited for this anniversary spectacular, celebrating 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There’s a Q&A with them before a 4K restored screening of the classic, complete with a shadow cast on stage below the screen. The audience is additionally fully armed with a prop bag to help recreate some of the most iconic scenes. Of course, there is also an interval to visit the bar and merchandise table which comes complete with some original memorabilia.

For the uninitiated, shadow casting is where fans in full costume (predetermined, not chosen from attendees on the night) recreate every frame above them with a few budget pieces of set where necessary. This is a glorious celebration of all shapes, sizes and genders as you might expect and in-line with the message of the film. They are not the only ones to go all-out on outfits. Part of attending one of these events is embracing cosplay of your favourite character. In a smaller venue perhaps there are not so many participants and everyone can get their moment on stage. However, in the cavernous opulence of the Dominion Theatre there were so many fans that once they had filled the walkway in front of the stage, they spilled into the aisles and up the raked stalls in a wave of glam, leather and fishnets. 

Slightly surprisingly from this sea of open-minded supporters, are the (apparently encouraged) heckles at the film which don’t quite chime with the liberated, progressiveness that otherwise fills the air of the auditorium. Janet (Susan Sarandon) is frequently cat-called as a “slut”, although to be fair boyfriend Brad is equally diminished as an “asshole”. This starts out playfully but after two hours it sours and spoils. Of course, this is a safe space for fans for whom this tradition has established itself, so it may not be right to criticise from the relative outside, but it just seems to jar with the overwhelmingly positive vibes. Some heckles are, to be fair, incredibly elaborate and clever, shouted out in gaps between speech to anticipate the line to come.

The film is the film and it looks great in 4k, as it will in cinemas for those wanting to express their fandom in a more quiet fashion. The prop bags are only used patchily, not everyone realising or caring when to don their newspaper or wave their glowstick. It seems to tend more towards cheap tat that people don’t really want or need and while many took them out of the theatre, it is likely they just ended up in the bin anyway. No doubt fans want to get together like this but the prop bags and extended introduction which stressed the presence of the merch available reeks a little of a cashgrab. The added value seems a little thin. The Q&A is pretty stilted too. It starts as though it is fan-submitted questions, when really everyone is just asked how they got involved – stories they’ve no doubt told for 50 years, so this feels like a missed opportunity for some very creative and witty fans to be even more involved and frankly give that original cast something, well, more original to say. 

It’s a night for fans and ultimately they absolutely love it, so honestly who is anyone else to judge? It is definitely an escape from reality for a few hours and that’s what theatre is all about. Something we could all do with! 

Written by Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman
Directed by Jim Sharman

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular is on tour until 7 May.